Summary

Climate Action Plan

for Medellín 2020-2050

Plan de Acción Climática Medellín 2020-2050 (Síntesis)

Translated by Peter Selman and Tiziana Laudato

The Municipality of Medellín was advised in the preparation of this document by the
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Network and supported by the UK Government.

Daniel Quintero Calle Mayor of Medellín

Juliana Colorado Jaramillo Secretary of Environment
Andrés Santiago Arroyave Undersecretary for Environmental Management
Diana María Agudelo Rueda Project Leader

Authors Natalia Arcila Marín

Diana Carolina Bedoya Ramírez
Gloria Inés Benjumea Pérez
Andrés Céspedes Herrera
Diana Frankel Gallo
Juan Esteban Monsalve Cifuentes
Tomás Felipe Tintinago Vásquez
Isabel Uribe Giraldo
Diana Flor Vargas
Oswaldo Zapata Zapata

Editorial team C40 Cities: Paula Andrea Zapata Jaramillo

Municipio de Medellín: Juan Esteban
Monsalve Cifuentes

Design and layout Andrés Barragán Montaña

Mateo L. Zuñiga
Jerson Siabatto Moreno

Illustrations by Guillermo Torres Carreño

Edición: 2021
© Municipio de Medellín, 2021
Calle 44 N˚. 52-165
www.medellin.gov.co
Medellín, Colombia

This is an official publication by the municipality of Medellín. It complies with

the provisions of Article 10 of Law 1474 of 2011 Anti-Corruption Statute,
which prohibits the dissemination of official programmes and policies for the
promotion of public servants or candidates.

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the

written permission of the General Secretariat of the Municipality of Medellín.
Also, any use of the characteristics of a publication that may create confusion
is prohibited. The municipality of Medellín has registered trademarks, some of
which are mentioned in this publication and which are legally protected.

All publications bearing the Medellín Mayor's Office stamp are distributed
free of charge.
Maintaining a healthy planet is our society's
greatest challenge and is fundamental to all
forms of life. In this respect, the sustainable
development agenda is more relevant than
ever. We need to reconsider our consumption
practices in the face of the environmental
and climate crisis. Gone are the ghosts
and fallacies of some denialists who have
questioned global warming and the negative
effects of our lifestyles.
The younger generation is increasingly
aware of the effects of our habits. Today,
eco-citizens are interested in getting around
by bicycle or planting a native tree with their
family to celebrate a special event. They
know that adopting more sustainable daily
habits is no small matter; the future depends
on collective and individual efforts to care for
our common home.
Some experts say that the climate crisis
will be the next pandemic. The negative
effects of climate on society and biodiversity
are indisputable, so now is the time for
redress! It is not an easy task, but if we are
to do the right thing, we must be fearless
in the face of change. In Medellín, with our
characteristic resilience and innovation, we
have been strengthening our commitment
to the planet. We have joined the C40
Network of Leading Cities in Climate
Change, we have a team of technicians
and experts to build the Climate Action
Plan (CAP), we have allocated a physical
headquarters equipped as a Centre for
Climate Management ,and we have made
all the resources of the Secretariat of the
Environment available to these initiatives.
These are some of the contributions that
have made us a regional reference and a
decisive actor for environmental protection
in Latin America.
Today Medellín is on track to a fair and
green recovery following the COVID-19 health
crisis and following the Paris Agreement, it
has more decisively joined the global efforts
to keep the average temperature increase
below 1.5°C. Our city commits to significantly
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by
2030 and to being carbon neutral by 2050.
It strives to be resilient to the impacts of the
climate crisis and to ensure an equitable
distribution of the benefits resulting from the
local agenda.
Our CAP charts the course for climate
transition in the coming years. This
document compiles the city's actions and
good practices and proposes new strategies
and a disruptive approach that includes
the participation of academia, the public
sector, the private sector, community-based
organisations, organised civil society, and all
stakeholders. The CAP is an invitation based
on which to address the transition towards
a more sustainable city and, in this sense, it
poses challenges that we will have to deal
with collectively.
Today we commit, on behalf of Medellín
and the global community, to implement our
ambitious but necessary Climate Action Plan.
DANIEL QUINTERO CALLE
Mayor of Medellín
PRESENTATION
The evidence on climate change is becoming
indisputable and the looming crisis with
impacts on biodiversity, livelihoods,
infrastructure and eco-economic growth
is becoming increasingly perceptible. This
phenomenon represents growing challenges
for humanity. Overcoming them requires the
joint efforts of all the peoples and nations
of the world. The Paris Agreement, built
and adopted after the XXI United Nations
Conference on climate change in 2015,
represents the most ambitious global
commitment in the fight against climate
change and brings together the efforts of
195 countries, including Colombia.
The most ambitious global commitments
that the signatories made seek to limit the
temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-
industrial levels by the end of the century,
increase adaptive capacity to the adverse
effects of climate change and promote
climate resilience. The agreement recognizes
the role of cities in energy consumption and
the generation of Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
emissions, and the high vulnerability of
urban settlements to the negative effects of
climate change, hence it is an invitation to
mobilize local governments.
Aware of the challenges, Medellín
acknowledges the need to manage the
climate transition and joins the efforts
of subnational governments to mitigate
climate change, build resilience and
reduce vulnerability to climate impacts.
With the support of the C40 Cities Climate
Leadership Group, it has drawn up a
roadmap aiming to build a carbon neutral
city by 2050 and with the capacity to cope
with the impacts of rising temperatures
and changing precipitation.
The Climate Action Plan of Medellin -
CAP outlines the path to be taken from now
on to progressively reduce GHG emissions
to achieve neutrality and the increase of
adaptation capacities under a low carbon
development perspective. This contributes
towards achieving the recently announced
Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)
submitted by Colombia to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Long Term Strategy.
This document summarizes the planning
exercise that the Municipality of Medellín
has developed. It presents an overview
of the baseline of emissions generation,
the climate risk assessment, the Plan’s
programmatic commitment and its
interaction with the Municipal Development
‘Medellín Futuro’ (Medellín of the Future)
Plan 2020-2023.
 1.
OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES
CLIMATE
ACTION PLAN
FOR MEDELLÍN’S CLIMATE
ACTION PLAN
FOR MEDELLÍN
2020-2050
The Climate Action Plan for the Municipality
of Medellín is structured based on the
guidelines and good practices defined by
C40 Cities. Consequently, the development
of its actions are focused on achieving
objectives related to three areas of climate
change management (Figure 1.)
To build a program proposal that responds
to the broader needs of climate change
management, the CAP is supported by
a robust baseline for GHG emissions,
vulnerability and risk to climate hazards,
inclusion needs for gap closure, and the
regulatory and institutional context.
As a municipal strategy, considering the
goal of limiting the average temperature
increase to 1.5°C, the CAP sets Medellín
the target of achieving a balance of zero
net emissions in 2050, making it a carbon
ADAPTATION
Preparation to face
the effects of climate
change
MITIGATION
Reduction of
Greenhouse Gas
6 Emissions - GHG
neutral city. This requires progressive progress
determined by two intermediate targets, 5 %
and 20 % reduction of GHG emissions in
2023 and 2030, compared to the baseline
identified in 2015 (Figure 2). This, in other
words, implies a reduction of 37 % respect
to the baseline scenario in 2030.
From another perspective, the CAP takes
up the city’s planning and land use agendas
to define its goals in terms of adaptation
objectives and global benefits of climate
change management, in terms of short and
medium term inclusion. In this regard, it is tied
to the objectives and goals determined in the
Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) Medellín 2030, the Land Management
Plan (LMP) and the Municipal Development
Plan 2020-2023 Medellín Futuro.
The Climate Action Plan
for the Municipality of
Medellín is structured
based on the guidelines
and good practices
defined by C40 Cities
FIGURE 1.
Strategic fronts of CAP Medellín
Source: C40 Cities, 2018.
INCLUSIVE CLIMATE
ACTIONS
Equitable distribution of
the benefits of climate
action

LONG TERM 2050
NET ZERO
CARBON
2.
GREENHOUSE GAS
INVENTORY
Medellin built its first Greenhouse Gas
Inventory - GHG BASIC+ with 2015 as the
base year, as a fundamental approach for
building a baseline for decision making aimed
at creating a carbon neutral city by 2050.
This inventory covers five sectors:
1) Stationay energy, 2) Transportation,
FIGURE 2.
GHG emission reduction goals
Source: own elaboration.
MEDIUM TERM 2030 SUMMARY
20 %
SHORT TERM 2023
5%
GHG EMISSION
REDUCTION GOALS
3) Waste, 4) Agriculture, forestry, and
other land use (AFOLU) and 5) Industrial
processes and product use (IPPU).
It should be clarified that, although
the BASIC + Inventory was built, it was
the BASIC Inventory that includes the
stationary energy, transport and waste
sectors ultimately used for climate
planning to reduce GHG emissions. The
Table 1 and Figure 3 consolidated results
of each sector are presented, for each of
the scopes analysed, and the inventories
are differentiated by BASIC and BASIC+.
The total GHG emissions for Medellín for
2015 were 4,731,406 tonCO2e (BASIC+)
and 3,562,796 tonCO2e (BASIC). 7
 TABLE 1.
Overall total results broken down by sector and by scope

Source: C40 Cities and Mayor’s Office of Medellín 2019.

SECTOR
EMISSIONS –
CLIMATE TCO2e SCOPE 1 SCOPE 2 SCOPE 3 BASIC BASIC +
ACTION PLAN
FOR MEDELLÍN STATIONARY 623 246 711 908 141 741 1 335 154 1 476 895
2020-2050 ENERGY

TRANSPORT 1 470 258 12 425 53 279 1 482 683 1 535 963

WASTE 114 896 630 063 744 959 744 959

IPPU 171 739 171 739

AFOLU 801 851 801 851

TOTAL 3 181 990 724 333 825 083 3 562 796 4 731 406

Note: The BASIC inventory corresponds to the accounting for the Stationary Energy, Transport and Waste sectors. For the BA-
SIC+ inventory, the IPPU and AFOLU sectors are also counted.
Corresponds to that counted in the BASIC physical inventory

Whereas + corresponds to what was counted in the inventory BASIC +.

3.
FIGURE 3.
Inventory resultsBASIC and
BASIC by sector
Source: C40 Cities and Mayor’s Office of Medellín 2019.

IPPU Stationay energy CLIMATE RISK ANALYSIS

AFOLU Transportation
FOR MEDELLÍN
Waste
The climate risk assessment enables
B Á SIC O+
understanding of the expected effects after
the materialization of climate hazards. This
17 %
B Á SIC O allows inferring their evaluation, mapping,
distribution and impact analysis on the
31

%
21
%

most vulnerable communities and the

4%

critical infrastructure of the municipality.

37 %

For Medellín, a risk assessment was

carried out for floods, torrential rains,
16 %

42 landslides, vegetation fires and the urban

%
heat island effect (map page 9), in terms
of the effects of increased rainfall intensity
and increased average and maximum
8 32 % temperatures.

The climate risk
assessment took as
a reference different
indicators associated with
the physical exposure
of the population and
infrastructure, quality life,
income, access to basic
services, age distribution
and quality urban,
among others.
The aggregation of these indicators and
different sources of information made
it possible to establish an index that, in
turn, facilitated a territorial reading based
on the weaknesses and capacities of
Map climate risk for Medellín
Source: C40 Cities and Mayor’s Office of
Medellín, 2020b.
TOTAL RISK
Low
Medium
High SUMMARY
N
Medellín is located in the center of the
metropolitan area of Valle de Aburrá
10 km
neighborhoods and villages to respond to
the potential effects of climate change.
The risk analysis enabled identification
of the geographic areas most susceptible
to being affected by climate change. In
short, there is greater vulnerability and
risk in informal settlements or recently
occupied settlements, located on the rural
urban fringe, where increased precipitation
represents a threat leading to torrential rains
and landslides. Similarly, in these areas there
is greater susceptibility to the occurrence
of vegetation cover fires resulting from
increased temperatures.
Regarding the intensification of the Urban
Heat Island Effect, taking as a reference the
surface temperature, there is a tendency to
generate hot spots in highly dense areas
without sufficient public space, particularly
in Commune 5 -Castilla and the industrial
areas of Commune 15 -Guayabal. 9
 FIGURE 4.
GHG Emissions Reduction Pathway -
Ambitious Scenario
Source: C40 Cities and City of Medellín 2020.

Reduction ambitious scenario Baseline forescast Emissions achieved D2020

CLIMATE Reduction extended scenario Deadline2020 trajectory Adequated emissions

ACTION PLAN
FOR MEDELLÍN Unadequated emissions
2020-2050

% below
baseline
emissions
6 526 629
tonnes 100 %
CO2e/year

6 000 000 90 %

80 %
5 000 000 4 550 538

4 037 871 70 %

4 000 000 60 %

Ambitious 50 %
scenario
3 000 000 2023
3 045 577 Ambitious 40 %
scenario
2030
2 000 000 2 388 136 Ambitious 30 %
scenario
2050
1 641 778 20 %
1 000 000
10 %

2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

4. ACHIEVING CARBON NEUTRALITY.

GREENHOUSE GAS
EMISSIONS REDUCTION
SCENARIO
To achieve the goals described above, the
emissions trend must be identified and
sectoral goals defined, broken down into
different items. This was possible thanks
to the model integrated to the Pathways
tool under which three scenarios were
developed. The summary of the ambitious
scenario created based on the municipal
10 context is presented.
AMBITIOUS SCENARIO
This scenario presents the trend for the
development of ambitious but attainable
actions to achieve carbon neutrality by
2050. The proposed targets will achieve
the reduction goal in the short and medium
term according to the target trajectory (see
Figure 4). However, it presents a gap of
1,641,778 tonCO2e to achieve neutrality (25
% compared to 6.5 million tonCO2e). This
will involve the development of regulatory
and financial measures to overcome
existing constraints.
 SUMMARY

5.
FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION Title: Ayacucho Tram, Medellín. Collage digital
photographic retrieved from Luis Urrea/123RF.COM

ON REDUCING EMISSIONS
Date: may 2021
Author: Guillermo Torres Carreño

AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE Inventory; the preparation of the city to face

CHANGE
the effects of the temperature increase, a
greater number of extreme precipitation
events and the occurrence of more intense
The acceleration and implementation of climate variability phenomena; and the
the Plan in Medellín is based on defining attention to the needs of inclusion, which
actions that respond to the challenges generate an unequal distribution of the
and opportunities in terms of mitigation, impacts of climate change.
adaptation, governance and social
inclusion, identified through the different
assessment processes considered for
the Baseline. The Plan also proposes a
The methodological
program approach based on top-down process led to the
interaction between institutions, norms and
sectoral instruments. This means goals and
need to implement the
actions are defined that respond to policy Plan through actions
guidelines at global, national, departmental
and metropolitan levels.
responding to the
The actions that define the route for needs identified around
the implementation of the Plan focus on
the reduction of emissions in each sector
seven Strategic Sectors
accounted for through the Greenhouse Gas (see Figure 5) 11
 FIGURA 5.
Strategic Sectors

Source: own elaboration.

CLIMATE
ACTION PLAN MORE SUSTAINABLE
FOR MEDELLÍN TRANSPORT AND
2020-2050 AMBITIOUS SCENARIO BENEFITS
MOBILITY REDUCTION GOALS
• Economic prosperity.
The sector's actions will contribute
• Significant reduction in
to reducing 15 % of the total GHG
emissions.
emissions projected to 2030 and
28 % of the total estimated in 2050. • Essential public services.
• Health and well-being air
210 233 687 079 1 860 468
tonCO2e tonCO2e tonCO2e quality.
per year per year per year
• Reduction of risks
2023 2030 2050 associated with the weather

INTEGRAL SOLID WASTE

AMBITIOUS SCENARIO REDUCTION GOALS BENEFITS
MANAGEMENT The sector's actions will contribute to reducing
• Economic
10 % of the total GHG emissions projected by
prosperity.
2030 and 11 % of the total estimated by 2050.
• Significant
reduction in
201 660 447 420 689 100
tonCO2e tonCO2e tonCO2e emissions.
per year per year per year
• Essential public
2023 2030 2050 services.

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AMBITIOUS SCENARIO BENEFITS

GENERATION AND USE REDUCTION GOALS
• Economic prosperity.
The sector's actions will contribute
to reducing 23 % of the total GHG • Significant reduction in
emissions projected by 2030 and 36 % emissions.
of the total estimated by 2050. • Essential public
services.
577 401 1 027 902 2 335 282
tonCO2e tonCO2e tonCO2e • Health and well-being
per year per year per year air quality.
2023 2030 2050

ADAPTATION AND DISASTER BENEFITS

RISK MANAGEMENT • Economic prosperity. • Essential public services.
• Significant reduction in • Environment
emissions. • Inclution and participation
12
 ECOSYSTEMS AND
BENEFITS
RURAL DEVELOPMENT • Health and well-being air • Environment
quality
• Inclution and participation
• Reduction of risks
associated with the weather SUMMARY

BENEFITS
URBAN PLANNING • Significant reduction in • Environment
emissions. • Reduction of risks associated with
• Essential public services. the weather

SOCIO-CULTURAL
PROCESSES FOR
BENEFITS
CLIMATE CHANGE • Significant reduction in • Environment
MANAGEMENT emissions. • Reduction of risks associated with
• Essential public services. the weather

The technical and political prioritization

exercise for the Plan's actions enabled the
selection of twenty-eight (28) mitigation and
adaptation actions in the seven proposed
sectors, also complying with criteria of
feasibility and generation of co-benefits
in air quality, employment, generation
of green areas and public services.
Furthermore, five (5) additional actions
were included in the final list, classified
as cross-cutting, whose impact on GHG
emissions and risk reduction is not directly
measurable, but are important catalysts
within the Socio-Cultural Processes sector Title: Sociocultural processes are catalysts of climate action.
for climate change management, for a total Collage digital photographic retrieved from 123RF.COM
Date: may 2021
of thirty-three (33) actions (Table 2). Author: Guillermo Torres Carreño 13
 TABLE 2.
Selected actions
Source: own elaboration.

SECTOR ACTION
CLIMATE
ACTION PLAN Develop safe, comfortable and inclusive physical infrastructure enabling the
FOR MEDELLÍN growth of trips made by men and women through walking and biking.
2020-2050
Develop resilient infrastructure to reduce the impacts of extreme precipitation
events and mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Reduce the number of trips and distances that fossil fuel vehicles travel due to
business and corporate processes.

Generate transition and renewal of public service vehicles that consume fossil
fuels to electric energy-powered vehicles.

TRANSPORT Generate transition and renewal of private vehicles that consume fossil fuels
AND SUSTAINABLE
towards electric energy-powered vehicles and low, ultra-low and zero emission
MOBILITY
technologies.

Implement demand management mechanisms consistent with academic and

technical evidence.

Optimize the logistic processes of the freight transport sector and encourage
the technological renovation of the vehicle fleet.

Optimize and enhance the coverage of the city's mass and collective public
transport system.

Promote the transition towards a regional circular economy model through the
development of sustainable production and consumption processes enabling
the revaluation of solid waste, its commercialization and the reduction of final
disposal rates in landfills.

Develop and implement comprehensive strategies for the treatment and use of
organic solid waste and wastewater management.
INTEGRAL SOLID Optimize the system of collection and final disposal of ordinary solid waste
WASTE MANAGEMENT
in the city, maintaining a regional perspective for the administration of the
integrated waste management system.

Implement an inclusive scheme for the use of waste enabling the application
of affirmative actions to improve the vulnerable population's socioeconomic
conditions.

Improve the energy performance of industrial processes and production

chains in the city.

Reduce energy consumption in the construction, operation and maintenance

SUSTAINABLE of new and existing public, commercial and residential buildings.
ENERGY GENERATION
AND USE
Increase the share of renewable energy sources in the portfolio of utility
companies.
14
SECTOR ACTION
Formulate and implement the urban drainage plan.

Develop climate and disaster risk monitoring processes by strengthening the early
warning system of Medellín and the Aburrá Valley-SIATA. SUMMARY

Develop community-based systems for knowledge generation and monitoring of

climate change and early disaster warning.

Implement structural measures for the corrective reduction of disaster risk and
ADAPTATION adaptation to climate risk at zonal and sectoral level.
AND DISASTER RISK
MANAGEMENT Implement nature-based solutions and bioengineering works for prospective disaster
risk reduction and climate risk adaptation.

Conduct detailed studies, characterization and analysis of scenarios by type

of phenomenon, incorporating hydrometeorological variables, and advance
the understanding of the variation of hazards in different trajectories of GHG
emissions generation.

Conserve and increase Medellín's forest cover through protection, restoration

and sustainable management actions, for the conservation of biodiversity, carbon
absorption, preservation of reservoirs and the sustainability of other ecosystem services.

Encourage sustainable rural development by promoting good practices and the

ECOSYSTEMS consolidation of short marketing circuits that enhance Medellín's capacity for self-
AND RURAL
sufficiency.
DEVELOPMENT
Implement conservation and ecosystem management measures for the sustainability
of drinking water supply sources.

Consolidate the compact city occupation model favouring proximity urbanism.

Implement actions for the comprehensive improvement of neighborhoods in the

different strategic intervention areas defined in the land management plan.
URBAN
PLANNING
Improve and increase public space system areas for recreation and meeting.

Manage research, innovation and development processes for projects to tackle

climate change and variability in Medellín.

Implement communication and dissemination strategies to ensure access to

information for the management of climate change for different audiences.

Develop inter-institutional, inter-sectoral, business and international cooperation

mechanisms to implement the measures and actions established in the CAP to
address climate change and variability.
SOCIO-CULTURAL
PROCESSES FOR To implement training processes and programs for the generation and management
CLIMATE CHANGE of knowledge, appropriation and development of proposals to face climate variability
MANAGEMENT change in Medellín aimed at all audiences.

Promote training and knowledge generation and management processes, focused

on community initiatives and active citizenship

Develop financing mechanisms and instruments for the implementation of CAP

measures.
15
CLIMATE
ACTION PLAN
FOR MEDELLÍN
2020-2050

Title: The well-being of future generations

it depends on our actions. Collage digital photographic
retrieved from 123RF.COM
Date: may 2021
Author: Guillermo Torres Carreño

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and
Mayor's Office of Medellín. (2019). Strategic
Evaluation of Climate Action Planning.
Medellín Colombia.
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
and Mayor's Office of Medellín. (2020a)
Vulnerability Study for Medellín. Medellín
16 Colombia.
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and
Mayor's Office of Medellín. (2020b) Climate
Risk Assessment of the City of Medellín.
Medellín Colombia.
• C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. (2018)
Climate Action Program. Medellín Colombia.
Climate change is a global issue with local effects and global cities, which
are home to 55 % of the world’s population and responsible for 70 % of
carbon dioxide emissions, have a key role to play in its mitigation.

The Medellín 2020-2050 Climate Action Plan is our city’ s guiding axis
for climate-related decision making. With all the actions it includes, the
Plan is designed to be implemented swiftly and to be inclusive, to make
the city carbon neutral by 2050, and to promote a green and fair recovery
from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Municipality of Medellín
Calle 44 # 52-165, Centro Administrativo Municipal
One-stop citizens’ helpline: 444 41 44
www.medellin.gov.co
Medellín, Colombia